Tag: cardio

Planet Fitness Day 1

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

Screenshot_2015-09-13-16-29-18Today was my very first day at Planet Fitness. I rode my bicycle and it took me 25 minutes to get there and I logged it into the Planet Fitness app manually and that was 275 calories burned.

When I signed in, I bought a gym bag because I needed something with a zipper. I saw they were only $10 on the PF Store in the app. I also asked for a pair of earbuds and a neoprene armband to hold my Dell DJ, but they didn’t have that. Instead, they showed me that they had a sale going on the gym bag with a pair of earbuds, a sports bottle, a combination lock, a hand towel and a rubber band bracelet with Planet Fitness written on it. Well, I had already bought a combination lock from Albertson’s and a sports bottle that was actually better than what came with this special, but I went ahead and bought it anyway. You can never have too many locks. The sports bottle would have been okay if it were better than what I already had, but it was worse, WAY WORSE!

The hand towel that came with it was a white towel with the logo printed on it. Well, you know what happens when something white with something inky gets wet? Just imagine putting in a red shirt in a load filled with white socks and white underwear. The ink runs all over the towel. Well, when you are wiping it all over your sweaty head for an hour, guess what happens. You get the ink all over your skin. My forehead looked like I had a major sunburn.

After I bought the bag with all the stuff I really didn’t need, besides the earbuds of course, I used the Total Body Enhancement chamber. Oh, I had to go back to buy a pair of “Peepers” to protect my eyes from the bright red light. They would’ve given me a pair to use, but I figured if I’m going to be using this machine every day, and possibly the tanning bed, I might as well own a pair and not use something someone else has used. The Total Body Enhancement was pretty cool. It vibrated my whole body. I honestly don’t know if it did anything, but I liked it and I’m going to do it before every workout. I asked if it’s before or after and the guy said you can use it either before or after, it doesn’t matter.

After that I went to the treadmills and got on one and did 30 minutes. It did a 5 minute cool down which is why it logged as 35 minutes in the Planet Fitness app. I plugged my earbuds in the machine and was able to watch I Am Cait on the E! channel. It ended in the middle of my workout, so I switched it to Naked and Afraid lol. When my workout was complete, I used the PF app to log my exercise and the app has this feature that all you do is tap Snap a Workout and you choose your machine then take a picture of the summary on the screen. It processes and eventually posts your workout in the app. Pretty cool eh? I didn’t have to enter anything manually into the app.

I didn’t stay to do anything else because my back was really hurting halfway through my Treadmill workout and it was agony when I finished. I went to the desk to sign in to use the massage chair and the guy gave me 2 tokens and that gave me about 5 minutes in the chair. It was a heck of a lot better than the Shiatsu massager that I have for my desk chair. It does a lot more than even the massage chairs at the mall. It helped a lot. I forgot to bring ibuprofen with me, so while I’m thinking about it, I better put the bottle in the gym bag now. I’m in absolute agony so I’m going to take some now as well.

I considered taking a shower before I left, but I figured I’m going to ride my bike home, why would I take a shower when I’m just going to have to take another one when I get home. I bought a bottle of water on my way out and rode the same distance, only it says 4.03 miles and I rode for 29 minutes this time. The reason is because my legs were so exhausted from riding the bike, then walking on the treadmill, then riding the bike again. I was really dragging ass on the way home, but it will all be worth it when it conditions my legs to allow me to do more at the gym in the future.

Tomorrow instead of using the treadmill, I think I will use the elliptical machine. It’s too soon for me to even think about the stair machine. There’s really no point in using the bicycle machine since I ride one to and from. It’s a bit redundant to ride the bike, then hop on a machine that rides like a bike, then ride my bike home. It would be like walking there, then getting on the treadmill and then walking home.

Anyway, I had a fun time and tomorrow I plan on tanning and using the hydromassage bed instead of the massage chair at the end of my workout. I hope to burn many calories and lose a lot of weight so I can be a skinny bitch again.

Planet Fitness

On By Michel McDonaldIn BullyingLeave a comment

planet fitness bakersfieldAs a child I dreaded going to gym class. I hated sports, but the exercise part didn’t bother me. I actually enjoyed the exercise part because it didn’t involve me being hit in the head by a dodge ball, or a baseball, or a football, or a tennis ball. I just really hate being hit in the head by balls. Well…

I used to go to the gym when I was in my early 20’s and I loved it. I stopped going for many years, but I started going to the gym again in 2005. It took me 2 1/2 hours to get there on the bus because we didn’t have a car. I only went there for maybe 3 or 4 months. I stopped going because I went to a friend’s wedding in Colorado Springs and I got my right ear pierced. My left ear was already pierced, so I evened myself out and started wearing earrings again on a regular basis in both ears now. When I came home and went to the gym, one of the female trainers who was so friendly with me that we were practically best friends asked me why I pierced both my ears and I told her the story of having my left ear pierced when I was 17. I also divulged some personal information that she wasn’t expecting. I told her I was gay. I made a joke about it and said “well I am gay…” and you would think that someone had just shot her dog. After that she stopped talking to me, she wouldn’t even look at me. That was when I decided to stop going to the gym.

So fast forward 10 years and I saw an advertisement on Twitter for Planet Fitness. I’m thinking of what happened to me at the last gym and I don’t ever want to have to go through that ever again. It was so depressing to be judged like that by someone who I considered to be a friend. I am very guarded and naturally want to go to Facebook and ask if anyone in the Bakersfield gay community has gone to that gym and one person told me that she hasn’t had any bad experiences. I’m taking her word for it, and I trust her, so I might take a chance. The only problem is, the plan I want will lock me in a 12 month contract.

Planet Fitness has 2 plans. Their $10/mo plan has no commitments, but you get very little benefits from it. This is what you get with their $10 plan.

  • Unlimited access to home club
  • Includes T-Shirt
  • Unlimited fitness training

Their $20 plan seems to be more what I am looking for because you get so much more.

  • Reciprocal use of all Planet Fitness® Franchise Locations
  • Unlimited guest privileges at any Planet Fitness location
  • Unlimited Hydromassage
  • Use of Tanning
  • Unlimited Total Body Enhancement
  • Unlimited Use of Massage Chairs
  • 1/2 Price Cooler Drinks (Restrictions may apply)
  • PF Black Card T-Shirt
  • PF Black Card Key Tag
  • Unlimited Fitness Training

I really like the hydromassage and the massage chairs. Well, my back will like them more. I have scoliosis and I am in constant pain every waking minute. I’m in absolute agony right now as I type this. I have a shiatsu massager that you put on a chair, and that does work, but when I am at a gym working out, I want to get in the shower and then sit in a massage chair. If I’m paying $10 a month and I can’t sit on that massage chair, I’m going to regret even being there. I would much rather pay the extra $10 every month to be able to get a few more benefits. I also wouldn’t mind getting a tan every now and then. Oh and half price cooler drinks? Yes please! I don’t know what total body enhancement means, but if it’s unlimited I’m so in. Oh and a black card t-shirt and key tag? Yes please!

I just want to be able to walk in and get on the treadmill or elliptical or even the stair climber and do cardio for an hour and then start building muscle which will help me burn fat faster. I also REALLY need to work on my butt. When I lost 70lbs a couple of years ago, I looked at my butt in the mirror when I got out of the shower and it was flat as a board. I don’t want to ever see a flat ass on myself again. If I am able to lose some weight, I want to have a nice bubble butt that is all muscle and no fat. Although, if I do get fat again, I’m gonna have a HUGE ass.

This $20 a month deal includes a $39 a year membership fee, which I honestly don’t mind, and a 12 month commitment. If I am committed to a year, then I will have no excuse to not go, in fact, I will feel obligated to go. And the $20 plan includes a unlimited guest pass which I am hoping will get my partner in there for free. So we’ll be working out for the price of one. Although, he may not get the benefits from the massage chair and bed or tanning bed. I’ll have to see how that works.

I’m really looking forward to going to the gym now. I’ve seen pictures and they have TV’s, so you can watch TV while you are doing your cardio. I was thinking of buying a bluetooth transmitter for my Dell DJ. I have bluetooth headphones for my phone, but my phone’s bluetooth doesn’t work. I’m sure I won’t need to listen to my own music if they have TV’s. And I’m sure they have very loud music, so you may not even be able to hear the TV’s lol. Then again, I haven’t gone in there yet, so I don’t know how they work. They may have headphones for the TV’s. Who knows. Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Anyway, I really want to go and I hope I have the opportunity. I’m broke this month, so I’m afraid I will have to miss the special they have now. I hope they will have this sale next month.

PS4 for Christmas

On By Michel McDonaldIn Games, Gift, Holidays, Products I Like, PSP, Tech, TVLeave a comment

ps4

My partner saw a commercial for Xbox One and asked if that’s what I want for Christmas. I told him I don’t want you to buy me an Xbox because they are way too expensive. He asked if I would play it and I said hell yes, but I don’t want you to buy it for me.

Up until that point it never even occurred to me that I might want a video game system for my TV. I mean, I’ve thought about it every now and then, but when I saw how expensive they were, the thoughts faded away. But now I can’t stop thinking about it.

This weekend is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. They are at least 23% off, but even still, they are way too expensive for me. The regular price of a PS4 is $520 and right now they are on sale for $400. That’s a lot of money to save, but $400 is also a lot of money to spend.

And I settled on PlayStation 4 because I already have PSP and they have much different selection than Xbox. For example Xbox doesn’t have Little Big Planet. I have some games that I love for my PSP that they don’t have anywhere else, like Jak and Daxter & Ratchet and Clank. It’s a brand, like Nintendo has Mario and Zelda and you can’t play those anywhere else. This particular game system has the Little Big Planet and Lego Batman 3. I mean don’t get me wrong, I would LOVE either Xbox One or PS4. I would be more than happy with either one of them.

Another reason I settled on the PS4 rather than Xbox One is because of the camera. I checked and the Xbox Kinect is $100 to $200. The PS4 camera is only $40. Huge difference in price. The only reason I would want the camera is so that I could use it for the dance games, which burn calories because it is cardio exercise. The Xbox One Kinect is more than just for exercise, in fact you can control your TV from what I understand, but I would probably never use that. In fact, if I did have that, every time I talked, Chip would ask me who I was talking to, so it’s better that I don’t have a game to talk to lol.

It’s a nice thing to think about, and I even created a Amazon wishlist for PS4, but I highly doubt I will ever be able to buy anything from that wishlist. Maybe one day, but probably not this day, or any time soon. If Santa “made” one for me, and it happened to be under the tree on Christmas morning, then I would be the happiest 44 year-old child the world has ever seen, but I highly doubt that would happen.

Weight Gain

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, Diet, Food, Noom, Pain, WeightLeave a comment

WeightGain

We went to the doctor’s office today so I could get my clearance note for surgery to remove my parotid gland.  They had me step on the scale and I was shocked to see that I was 205lbs.  So yeah, I’m a bit verklempt lol.

One of my issues with exercising is that when I walk or ride my bike or do anything that burns calories, the Noom app tells me that I can eat more calories, so I end up eating those extra calories, but then I might even go over those extra calories because I think to myself that I did such a good job that it’s okay.  Well, that’s not how it works.  I should still stick with 1400 calories, 1500 at the most.  Even if it says I can eat 1700, I should draw the line in the sand at 1500.

I’ve been using the Noom app for my cardio, but I decided to download the Noom Cardio Trainer.  I’m sure that it will still show the extra calories in the Noom app, but I just want to see how it goes with the Noom Cardio Trainer.

I’ve been eating those Quinoa and Tofu burgers every day with hamburger buns which is not a good idea; I should be eating them without any bread.  Here is my typical day:

Every morning I will either have a bowl of Malt-O-Meal or a banana for breakfast, which by the way the Malt-O-Meal is a green food (which means healthy) and the banana is obviously a green food.  For my morning snack (second breakfast?) I usually have a banana.  For lunch I normally eat a Weight Watchers Smart Ones frozen dinner, although I’ve been eating the Quinoa and Tofu burgers, both by the way are green, except for the bun of course.  Afternoon snack (linner?) is typically a banana or crackers or sometimes I will have a bowl of broccoli.  That has been consistent.  Dinner is typically a Weight Watchers Smart Ones, but I’ve been eating the Quinoa and Tofu Burgers.  For evening snack I’ve been eating a lot of crackers.  I need to stop doing that, but I get so hungry that it feels like I’m famished.

I’m assuming that my issue here is the bread and the crackers.  I also have to admit that I’ve been eating candy corn, but not daily.  I’m guessing that the amount that I’ve eaten so far is finally catching up to me, so I will stop eating them for the rest of the season.  If I am having this much difficulty from the candy corn, just imagine how it’s going to be when Eggnog is available in stores.  I’m going to go crazy because I just LOVE eggnog lol.

So getting back to the Noom cardio trainer, I have set up 5 days a week to go riding on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  I’m going to go out 5 days a week to do at least 11 miles per day, if I can do more, then great, but I’m not going to push myself that hard.  The app suggests 5 days a week, so I’m giving myself 2 days off, but not 2 consecutive days which is why I chose Sundays and Wednesdays as my days off.

balance ballI am also going to buy that Gaiam Total Body Balance Ball Kit which is sold on Amazon for $20.  It has an exercise DVD with it which I can watch while doing the exercises in my bedroom.  The doctor at Physical Therapy told me I should buy one so I can do exercises for my back since I only have 3 more sessions left.  My insurance only pays for so many sessions, then I’m on my own.  My back isn’t in as much pain as it was, but anyone who has, or anyone who knows anyone with scoliosis knows that the pain is really bad.  The only thing that really helps my pain is the exercises.  Pain meds don’t do anything for my back pain, they help my parotid gland pain, but not my back pain.  $20 is a small price to pay for pain relief.  I wanted to buy one at Target, but they were the same price, but without the DVD.

I really hope I can get back down to my comfortable weight of 192lbs and possibly get back on track with my weight loss so I can get down to my ultimate goal of 170lbs.  Considering I lost 70lbs this year, 35lbs shouldn’t be that difficult to lose, although it’s harder than I thought.

So to recap, my goal is to stay away from Halloween Candy and any other holiday sweets, bread and to exercise more and to try not to eat more than 1500 calories per day, even when the app says I can eat more.

Ready… set…  GO!

38 Minutes

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

I went bike riding this morning just as the sun was coming up.  I don’t recall the time, it was before 7am though.  Instead of stopping at California Ave and turning right and going back home, this time I decided to keep going to Truxton and turn left to go to Oak St. which is the way to get to Beach Park where the bike path is at.

I went to Oak but had to turn around and come back home because I’m so heavy that as I was riding my bike I could tell that my seat was going down because my legs were no longer straight when my pedal was all the way down.  They were bending still and when I left the house they were straight.  So I’m so heavy that I’m pushing my seat down which is not good.  Next time I go on a ride I have to raise the seat again.  I have a feeling that until I lose this website I’m gonna have to keep raising the seat every time.

That’s ok I guess.  I’m just happy that I rode a longer distance than before.  38 minutes is a lot longer than 14 minutes.  I also rode for 4.2 miles total.  I checked it out on Google Maps.  Go me!

By the way, I was so close to Beach Park, like 5 blocks from it.  I was so close I could have tasted it.  I had no idea that I was that close either.  If I knew I was that close I would’ve tried harder to get there.  At least they had water so I could have refilled my bottle lol.  I ran out just as I was getting closer to the house.  That only tells me I need to bring the bigger bottle next time lol.

Edit: I went to Spark People to add my cardio for today and 38 min at 10 mph (I don’t know what my speed is as I don’t have a bike odometer and 10 mph is the lowest they have so it’s my only option) and that is 342 calories burned.  The total for the whole week is 87 of 90 min that they require you to do and 783 of 780 calories burned.  They only want you to do exercise cause they are there to tell you what you need to do to get thin.  You aren’t “required” to do anything you don’t want to in which case you don’t have to sign up on their website.  But anyway, my point is that I exceeded the amount of calories for the whole week but I was still 3 minutes shy of the amount of time.  That’s fine though because next week will be double because I was so close to Beach Park that next time I will actually make it there and maybe even get to ride on the bike path for a little while.  I might end up doing the entire 90 min for the entire week in just 2 sessions.